Tucson News NowGoogle named best place to work in America

By Rick Marshall
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It's official: Life is better at Google.

That's the word from Fortune Magazine, at least, which assigned Google the top spot in its annual list of the "100 Best Companies To Work For."

According to the report, last year's boon for the tech company translated to much employee love — and the long list of perks that come with being a Google employee didn't hurt, either. Among those perks at the company's Mountain View, California, complex are bocce courts and a bowling alley, as well as 25 cafes stocked with free food across all of the companies' locations.

"Employees are never more than 150 feet away from a well-stocked pantry," one Google staffer told the magazine.

In a related story by Mercury News, the Google founders' focus on air quality was also cited as a reason for — and a great example of the company's focus on — the level of employee satisfaction.

From the company's earliest days, the co-founders — who are said by some of the company's first employees to share an acute sense of smell and sensitivity to toxins — have had an intense focus on air quality, as one way to create a work environment second to none. The company says its air quality rivals a hospital rather than an office building, and it has long scrutinized all building materials — including, literally, a sniff test — to make sure they are free of chemicals with any health impact.

Yes, even the air smells better at Google HQ.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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